We learned more about our unit by touring the State Capitol. We toured the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Governor's Office. Thank you to Representative Ken Ito and Representative Cynthia Thielen for taking the time to speak to LJA's fifth graders. Students also toured the historic Aliiolani Hale, the home of Hawaii's Supreme Court, and then eagerly participated in a mock trial. Reenacting a trial and taking on the roles of judges, jury members, witnesses, lawyers and more was just one of the highlights of the day! Thank you to Ms. Schaberg Ms. Pettit for chaperoning our excursion.
Friday, Ms. Smith, one of LJA's 4th grade teachers spoke to us about her experience being a juror. We learned about the importance of performing this civic duty.
CURRICULUM UPDATE
Unit News
Researching a different form of government
Teaching the class about another form of government through a poster and presentation
Writing a Compare and Contrast Essay on the U.S. Government and another form of government ( Summative Assessment)
Exploring the rights and responsibilities of citizens
Language Arts
Learning about the structure of a compare/contrast essay
Ask your 5th grader to tell you about the importance of
Words of the Wiser, Tough Questions, Aha Moments, Contrasts and Contradictions, Again and Again, and Memory Moments
These are all signposts that we see in the novels we are reading, we are learning about the importance of these signposts
Morphology
We started our morphology unit. We are learning about prefixes, suffixes and base words.
Math
Shape and Space/Geometry
Review of Long Division & Multiplication
Ms. Johansson recently met with parents to discuss Bring Your Own Device for fifth graders. A letter that was sent home is included at the end of this post. If you are interested in having your child bring a device from home, please read her letter which explains logistics and also gives more details.
Important Upcoming Dates-
February 8- Fun Run
February 16-18 No School/President's Day & Teacher Work Day
February 26- Parent Workshop in the evening. There will be a session on Exhibition, Science Inquiry, Math, Language and Music. More information on the sessions is forthcoming. Look for a reservation form that will be sent electronically.
Friday, Ms. Smith, one of LJA's 4th grade teachers spoke to us about her experience being a juror. We learned about the importance of performing this civic duty.
CURRICULUM UPDATE
Unit News
Researching a different form of government
Teaching the class about another form of government through a poster and presentation
Writing a Compare and Contrast Essay on the U.S. Government and another form of government ( Summative Assessment)
Exploring the rights and responsibilities of citizens
Language Arts
Learning about the structure of a compare/contrast essay
Ask your 5th grader to tell you about the importance of
Words of the Wiser, Tough Questions, Aha Moments, Contrasts and Contradictions, Again and Again, and Memory Moments
These are all signposts that we see in the novels we are reading, we are learning about the importance of these signposts
Morphology
We started our morphology unit. We are learning about prefixes, suffixes and base words.
Math
Shape and Space/Geometry
Review of Long Division & Multiplication
Ms. Johansson recently met with parents to discuss Bring Your Own Device for fifth graders. A letter that was sent home is included at the end of this post. If you are interested in having your child bring a device from home, please read her letter which explains logistics and also gives more details.
Important Upcoming Dates-
February 8- Fun Run
February 16-18 No School/President's Day & Teacher Work Day
February 26- Parent Workshop in the evening. There will be a session on Exhibition, Science Inquiry, Math, Language and Music. More information on the sessions is forthcoming. Look for a reservation form that will be sent electronically.
Dear Grade 5 Parents,
At my most recent Coffee with the Principal, we discussed the idea of BYOD as a voluntary option for our Grade 5 students. This came about last year, because the students were already bringing their devices for the PYP Exhibition naturally because they preferred their own laptop over the school’s devices. This year we would like to do this again and get feedback from you so we can monitor it a bit closer. Keep in mind that we are not requiring or asking anyone to buy a laptop, just allowing this option as we did last year.
These are some logistics, should your child choose to bring a device (we still have our tablets and laptops here at school should your child wish to continue using the school’s devices).
Middle School and High School students must bring a laptop to school to support the academic requirements. Other electronic devices such cell phones, iPads, Chromebooks, etc. may also be utilized as secondary devices to support their learning.
Mac
Windows
Intel Core i5 1.6GHz dual-core processor or higher
Wi-Fi capable
2GB RAM or higher
128GB Hard Drive or larger
11” display or larger
Mac OS X 10.6 or newer
Intel Core i3 2.20GHz processor or higher
Wi-Fi capable
2GB RAM or higher
128GB Hard Drive or larger
11” display or larger
Windows 7 or newer
Families should also consider using reputable Anti-Virus software to protect their files, operating system, user accounts and passwords.
Please feel free to contact me or your child’s classroom teacher should you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Majken Johansson
Lower School Principal
At my most recent Coffee with the Principal, we discussed the idea of BYOD as a voluntary option for our Grade 5 students. This came about last year, because the students were already bringing their devices for the PYP Exhibition naturally because they preferred their own laptop over the school’s devices. This year we would like to do this again and get feedback from you so we can monitor it a bit closer. Keep in mind that we are not requiring or asking anyone to buy a laptop, just allowing this option as we did last year.
These are some logistics, should your child choose to bring a device (we still have our tablets and laptops here at school should your child wish to continue using the school’s devices).
- the device is used for academic purposes only and not taken out during recess
- the device is taken home each day
- First offense: if used inappropriately, the device will be taken and held by the classroom teacher and picked up by the student after school
- Second offense: if used inappropriately a second time, the device will be taken and held by the Lower School Principal and picked up by the student after school
- Third offense: if used inappropriately a third time, the device will be taken and held by the Lower School Principal and the device will need to be picked up by parents - the student’s continued use of BYOD will be determined
Middle School and High School students must bring a laptop to school to support the academic requirements. Other electronic devices such cell phones, iPads, Chromebooks, etc. may also be utilized as secondary devices to support their learning.
Mac
Windows
Intel Core i5 1.6GHz dual-core processor or higher
Wi-Fi capable
2GB RAM or higher
128GB Hard Drive or larger
11” display or larger
Mac OS X 10.6 or newer
Intel Core i3 2.20GHz processor or higher
Wi-Fi capable
2GB RAM or higher
128GB Hard Drive or larger
11” display or larger
Windows 7 or newer
Families should also consider using reputable Anti-Virus software to protect their files, operating system, user accounts and passwords.
Please feel free to contact me or your child’s classroom teacher should you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Majken Johansson
Lower School Principal